As teams across the league prepare for Sunday’s roster cuts deadline, the Cleveland Browns have some quarterback decisions to make. Earlier this week, the Browns announced that Deshaun Watson will be Cleveland’s starting quarterback, winning the highly-publicized competition against Shedeur Sanders. But Dillon Gabriel‘s status was much murkier — it was unclear if the Browns would keep three quarterbacks on the active roster, and Gabriel is the distant third in the pecking order.
Well, that speculation can be put to rest now. According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, Gabriel will make Cleveland’s initial 53-man roster, confirming they will roster three quarterbacks.
“Sources: Browns QB Dillon Gabriel is set to make Cleveland’s initial 53-man roster,” Fowler wrote on Twitter/X.
The Browns are set to go into the season with Watson, Sanders, and Gabriel all on the roster. We’ll see if they make any changes to the quarterback room during the season.
Cleveland Browns QB Dillon Gabriel May Struggle to See Playing Time
While making the roster is good news for Gabriel, it doesn’t mean he’ll actually see the field on game days. For some reason, the Browns are determined to let Watson start game for them again, and Sanders will undoubtedly start as well once the Watson experiment fails (again).
It’s possible Gabriel could see a path to playing time in case of injury, but short of that, he’s still more likely to be traded than start for the Browns. He was a distant third in the quarterback competition this summer, with Cleveland never signaling he was actually ever in the mix.
A former third-round pick out of Oregon just last year, Gabriel appeared in 10 games for the Browns as a rookie and threw for 937 yards and seven touchdowns to two interceptions, completing 59.5 percent of his passes and taking 19 sacks.
Browns QB Dillon Gabriel Could Carve Out a Long Career as a Backup
Ahead of the 2025 NFL Draft, I actually ranked Gabriel third among quarterbacks. While I always thought his upside as a starter was limited, to me he profiled as a career backup, someone who could reliably provide a stable floor at the position in limited snaps — and who could help everyone on the team from the sidelines.
The Browns are searching for someone with significant potential as a starter, so Gabriel isn’t living up to the expectations Cleveland set when they drafted him. Still, whether it’s in Cleveland or (more likely) somewhere else, Gabriel can be a quality backup option. Smart, accurate, and comfort operating the offense are all qualities coaches look for in backup quarterbacks.
Browns Signal Dillon Gabriel Decision Ahead of Roster Cut Deadline